Capitol Reef National Park

Why Capitol Reef:

My good friend Andrew Hess wanted to go on one last adventure with me before I became a father. Andrew recommended doing something other than cleaning the highway in Albuquerque. Since the trip was last minute, most of the flights are prohibitively expensive. We discovered that there is a Friday night flight on Breeze Airways for slightly over $200 that goes on a triangle route from San Francisco (where Andrew lives), stops in San Bernardino (about an hour east of me) and then continues to Provo, Utah. The Sunday return flight goes from Provo first to San Francisco and then to San Bernardino. So, Andrew would pick me up in San Bernardino and I would drop him off in San Francisco – how cute!

With Utah experiencing unseasonably warm weather – skiing was off the table. Instead, I suggested driving to Capitol Reef National Park, a three-hour drive south of Provo.

Andrew had unfortunately bail last minute due to a family emergency. At that point everything was paid for and non-refundable, so it would be a solo trip.

February 6, 2026: The Most Random Flight

Due to Friday night traffic, the drive to San Bernardino took 2.5 hours. Luckily, I left with plenty of time.

San Bernardino is one of the most unusual airports in the US. For 50 years, it was Norton Air Force Base and has one of the longest runways in North America, capable of landing the Airbus A380 and C-5 freighter.  In 1994 the base was decommissioned due to the fall of the Soviet Union. The decision was made to convert SBD to a commercial airport. The passenger terminal opened in 2022. However, with Ontario International Airport (ONT) so near, airlines haven’t bit. In fact, Breeze is currently the only airline to offer passenger service. They have 6 flights per week: two on M/F and one on S/Th. All the flights are on the triangle route with San Fransico and Provo. Because of the airport’s massive runway, good weather and proximity to the logistics hubs of the Inland Empire, the airport also has significant cargo and heavy maintenance operations.

After parking for $5/day in the lot which doubles as a storage for Tesla, I walked into the gorgeous terminal. With only 30ish passengers in the waiting area, there were probably more staff working here than passengers. This operation must be hemorrhaging money, but I really hope it works out.

The flight to Provo took 90 minutes and was uneventful. We landed just before 23:00.

At the rental car terminal, Budget asked for a physical copy of my insurance certificate with the policy number written on it – something I have never been asked for and did not have. So, I decided to walk and instead rent from the local company A to B rentals next door. A to B quickly got me a Mercedes SUV that ended up being cheaper than the original Budget economy car rental.  

I then drove 90 minutes south to the town of Salina where I checked into a motel. Utah is notoriously an early-to-bed place so I made sure to pre-arrange my late arrival.

February 7, 2026: Capitol Reef

I woke up around 8 and drove the remaining 90 minutes to the national park. Central Utah is amazingly empty!

The forecasted high today was 60 F … in early February! This was going to be a day for the ages.

As I drove into the park, spectacular red sandstone walls rose up in front of me. What a place!

Capitol Reef protects a geologic formation known as the Waterpocket Fold, a ripple in the earth’s crust. The ground rises gradually from the east before plunging back into the earth at the park’s western edge.  The result is a series of spectacular red rock cliffs stretching north-south for miles. Due to weathering, narrow east-west canyons have formed within the larger formation.

Capitol Reef also was an early Mormon Pioneer settlement. The name comes from one formation that resembles the Capitol dome in Washington DC. Reef describes a flat area where the pioneers planted numerous fruit trees including apples. They named their town Fruita. The park’s main visitor center lies within the historic ruins of Fruita.

Based on a conversation with the ranger in the visitor center, I headed along the Scenic Road. Once the pavement ended, I headed into the Capitol Gorge along a one-lane dirt road. This is one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever taken with red rock soaring up from both sides of the car – similar to the Zion Narrows.

The road ended in a parking lot.

One trail continued down the canyon into an area actually called The Narrows. However, I headed back west and up the wall of the canyon. The trail mainly stayed halfway up the cliffs along a mid-level with plants and even small trees. The trail climbed with the land itself and after 1.5 miles, I had gained over 1,000 feet in elevation.

The trail ended in a flat area with a view of a spectacular formation known as the Golden Dome. There, I met a retired teacher from Washington who has been living the nomadic van life for the past three years. She has spent the last week in Capitol Reef. She is going to drive her van down to Phoenix to go on a two-week “ladies birdwatching” trip in Suriname before starting a 10-week road trip back up to Washington for the summer. This lady clearly does not talk to many other people and very excited to talk travel with me. We chatted for about an hour before hiking back to our respective cars.

I then drove north to another slightly wider canyon. This one had a paved road. At the end of the road, I once again started to hike.

Similar to the first trail, I had the option of continuing down the canyon to the Narrows or walking up the canyon wall and west. After a mile of walking and 1,000 ft of elevation gain, the trail moved onto the red rock itself and was marked with cairns. Eventually I reached the Cassidy Arch. This splendid 400 ft natural arch sits perilously on the cliff. Cassidy Arch is considered one of the park’s signature hikes, so there were some people here and I had to wait to get my photo.

My third and final hike of the day was to Hickman’s Bridge. This natural bridge (don’t ask how its different from an arch – I don’t know) sits a half-mile up a narrow canyon off the park road.

I was making good timing and still had some daylight, so I decided to continue up the slope to the west to reach a spectacular viewpoint overlooking the main Fruita reef area. In total of the three hikes, I walked 16 miles.

On the way out from the park, I stopped for one last viewpoint aptly named Sunset Point.

In the park-adjacent town of Torrey, I stopped at Etta Place Cidery. Etta makes their own hard cider. The apples are from their own orchard, not the park but its presence pays homage to the area’s history. Etta Place is the first cidery in Utah post-prohibition and its opening involved a number of laws being amended for the modern era. It also doubles as the only bar in all of Wayne County. Utah is notoriously strict on alcohol due to its strong ties to Mormonism, which the staff complained about. A few interesting laws: 1. All beer served must be picked up directly from the brewery by you– you cannot use distributor to deliver the beer to you. 2. Beer can be no more than 5% ABV. This level is lower than most commercially-available beers limiting the ability to serve beers made outside of Utah. 3. All liquor must be purchased in a state-owned liquor shop which have limited hours and are closed on Sunday. 4. All liquor-based drinks can only have 1.5 ounces of liquor per drink. That has to be measured using a state-regulated measuring tool.

I ordered two mini-flights of four ciders – which totaled about 1.5 drinks.

At this point it was 17:30 and the vast majority of restaurants are either seasonal or close at 19:00. One of the two restaurants in the county open past 7 is Curry Pizza in the town of Bicknell, Utah. Opened by an Indian-American chef from Salt Lake City who was driving to Capitol Reef and noticed a pizzeria for sale. He converted it to sell fusion Indian pizzas such as a chicken tikka masala pizza (they also sell normal pizzas and Indian food but why would you do that?). Curry Pizza was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and is now a Utah-wide chain. But this is the original.

I ordered the Bhindi special which included paneer and curry mozzarella. It was actually delicious.

Back in Salina, I stopped at a “dirty soda” drive-thru. This one closed at 20:00 making it the latest business to close in the entire town. Dirty soda exists as a Mormon theological loophole. The Book of Mormon states that Mormons cannot drink “hot drinks”. This is interpreted by the Church as tea and coffee (as well as alcohol). However, cold caffeinated drinks are fair game. So instead of grabbing a coffee or a cocktail, Mormons will drink sodas with extra flavors and toppings such as fruit syrup and coconut cream. The menu is divided by the base soda (Dr. Pepper, Mtn Dew, etc.) and each combination has a cocktail-like name. I ordered the GOAT which included Mountain Dew, coconut cream, a squeeze of fresh lime and strawberry puree. My drink had over 70 grams of sugar!

They also had a “happy hour” special of a 32 oz glass of Mountain Dew for $1.25.

Across the street was a shop with blue-tinted lights and mannequins in the window. In any other state, this would be a sex shop, but here in Utah it was a tanning bed. Mormon culture is wild!

Despite the sugar rush, I was able to fall asleep quickly.

February 8, 2026: Back to Provo

My flight left at noon and unfortunately, there are very few places open on Sundays in Utah. So there was nothing to do.

Along the drive back, I listened to the radio. More than half of the radio stations suspended their normal programming to play the Mormon Church’s official Sunday broadcast, known as Music & the Spoken Word. It includes a performance from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and sermons from key church leaders. I listened to two hours of these sermons. Here is what I ascertained:

Mormons believe that before Creation, there was a battle between God and Satan. Mormons today are souls who fought for God during this war. They have been picked individually by God to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

When souls come into this world, they have forgotten about their past, but luckily the Book of Mormon – which was transcribed by the prophet Joseph Smith with the help of the angel Moroni – is their guide. Mormon men are endowed with priestly powers, the same powers of Biblical-era Jewish priests in the temple in Jerusalem. I’m not sure all of which this entails, but they do have the ability to heal others. Mormon women’s primary job is to birth more pure souls into the world. Both men and women have the obligation to preach the new “complete” gospel.

After one’s mission is complete aka you die, the souls will return to God and live as gods themselves. However, only pure souls will be allowed into the door of God’s kingdom. The key way to corrupt your soul is by having premarital sex. Only murder is considered a sin worse than premarital sex. Drinking alcohol is banned because it distracts souls from their mission and can lead to bad choices but does not in and of itself corrupt the soul. Until recently, being raped would qualify as having your soul corrupted but after the Elizabeth Smart ordeal, the church now states that being raped does not corrupt your soul because you did not willingly engage in the sex.

I stopped in the town of Payson, Utah for another dirty soda.

I then got to the airport and flew back to San Bernardino via San Francisco. I then drove home.

Final Thoughts:

Capitol Reef is the least known of Utah’s national parks but it is a stunner and very worthy of the national park designation. I was impressed!

I was able to see all the highlights in a single day, but I think a second day is optimal to fully explore all the amazing trails in the park. If you have a 4WD high-clearance car, it’s possible to drive south to remote areas of the Weathersprocket Fold. People say that’s the true highlight of the park.

Also, while I think the Mormon culture is strange, the people are exceedingly nice and helpful.